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TOS episode #25 - This Side of Paradise
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Pow, you've added yet another fine analysis of a TOS episode, and by doing so you've provided us with new ideas to think about and discuss.

For example


Pow wrote:
Nitpickers Guide says that it is discovered that the spore's microbes die out when exposed to intense emotion.

When Mr. Spock is infected by the spores he proceeds to go through very intense emotions during the process.

Wouldn't the microbes die even as they are trying to infect the Vulcan?

Not quite.

The episode makes it clear that hostile emotions kill the spores, not just "intense emotions". Everybody on the planet is happy, including Dr. McCoy — although Spock does go "plum slap happy' when he falls in love and abandons his life-love devotion to suppressing his emotions.


Pow wrote:
The author of Nitpickers writes that since Dr. McCoy has examined the colonists and found them to be unusually healthy---thanks to the spores---what's wrong with leaving them on the planet?

If Captain Kirk wants to go through life clawing and scratching and struggling, that's fine.

However, who is he or the Federation to decide others must follow the same pattern. These people are healthy and happy. Why can't Starfleet leave 'em all alone?

And excellent point, sir! Very Happy

The philosophy presented by the people on Omicron Ceti III is basically a religion which promotes a simple lifestyle and a harmonious sense of well being. Admittedly, it's portrayed as being a bit "drug induced".

But frankly in the last few decades I've begun to think that all religious devotion has the unsavory odor of total illogic! Belief in these religions requires too much rejection of science! Sad

That said, I'd have to defend the idea that the inhabitants of Omicron Ceti III should be allowed to live their lives as they see fit . . . enjoying the benefits of the perfect health and the peaceful feelings they have, because of the strange plants which have infected them.

Kirk was forced to combat the plant's influence on his crew. But if these alien organisms hadn't threatened the Enterprise, the conflict might have been avoided.

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scotpens
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Dr. McCoy would undergo a similar situation of having a fatal illness in the episode "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." What a great episode title.

Well, it's certainly a long episode title.

Pow wrote:
Interesting that they left the Asian sounding name Leila Kalomi intact even after deciding that the romance would shift from the Sulu character to Mr. Spock.

I assume the producers had an Asian actress in mind for the part when she was to have a romance with Sulu.

More of a Pacific Island or Polynesian-sounding name, I'd say. If they'd gone with that idea, it would have been a great role for Nancy Kwan. (Damn, she was gorgeous!)

Pow wrote:
The antidote to the spores was going to be individuals with a certain blood type; alcohol.

Does that mean that people with a certain blood type were immune, or that the antidote was a high blood alcohol level? (In that case, Scotty would certainly be immune!)

Pow wrote:
Total cost for this excellent episode was $171,681.

Adjusted for inflation, that's $1,426,409 in today's dollars (in case anyone wants to know).

Krel wrote:
Maybe Kirk liked antiques, and so used a vintage Samsonite suitcase, or a replica. Laughing Personally, I think the Samsonite looked better than those small silver cloth tubes they had in TNG.

I thought Kirk's black-and-brushed-chrome suitcase (it was actually an American Tourister piece) looked pretty modern, if not futuristic.

Bud Brewster wrote:
Pow wrote:
The author of Nitpickers writes that since Dr. McCoy has examined the colonists and found them to be unusually healthy---thanks to the spores---what's wrong with leaving them on the planet?

If Captain Kirk wants to go through life clawing and scratching and struggling, that's fine.

However, who is he or the Federation to decide others must follow the same pattern. These people are healthy and happy. Why can't Starfleet leave 'em all alone?

And excellent point, sir! Very Happy

The philosophy presented by the people on Omicron Ceti III is basically a religion which promotes a simple lifestyle and a harmonious sense of well being. Admittedly, it's portrayed as being a bit "drug induced".

But frankly in the last few decades I've begun to think that all religious devotion has the unsavory odor of total illogic! Belief in these religions requires too much rejection of science! Sad

That said, I'd have to defend the idea that the inhabitants of Omicron Ceti III should be allowed to live their lives as they see fit . . . enjoying the benefits of the perfect health and the peaceful feelings they have, because of the strange plants which have infected them.

Kirk was forced to combat the plant's influence on his crew. But if these alien organisms hadn't threatened the Enterprise, the conflict might have been avoided.

You're both missing an important point. The spores protected the colonists from the deadly Berthold rays. With the spores driven out of them, the colonists would be dead within a week at most if they remained on the planet.

I suppose they could allow themselves to be re-infected. But now that the seeds of discontent had been sown (as it were), would that even be possible?

Of course, the crew deserting the ship was a plot device to force Kirk to take action. But the basic message stands: "No wants. No needs. We weren't meant for that. None of us. Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is."


For anyone who's interested, here's a link to director Ralph Senensky's reminiscences of working on the episode. https://senensky.com/this-side-of-paradise/
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
I'm not sure if my recollection is correct but weren't the deadly Berthold rays pounding the planet still a potential issue?

Couldn't they adversely affect livestock and crops? If so, how would the colonists survive with nothing to eat or sell?

I checked the episode, and we do learn that the Berthhold rays killed the animals (along with the planet's insects). However, Spock is shown examining the colonists' garden, and he comments that the crops are growing well.

Kirk asks Sandervol to explain why all their farm animals died, but Sandervol just smiles and says, "We're vegetarians."


Pow wrote:
I haven't seen the episode in years, so I don't remember. But was there any mention of children? Maybe with the spores there could be no reproduction. If so, that would be another strike against the spores.

I can't find anything that confirms or denies the possibility of children being born in the colony — except for the fact that they only had one women, played by Jill Ireland. Apparently the colonist didn't plan on expanding by producing offspring, and the men weren't very interested in starting families, since they didn't bring wives or potential mates. Confused

However, the spores seem to have given Spock a more human-like sex drive, based on his professed love for Leila. I suppose the spores didn't stifle what little sex drive the men had. If female colonists were expected to join them later on, I suppose children might have been born eventually.

Concerning the nature of the spores, as I mentioned earlier, the spores affect humans the same way religious philosophies of peace and love affect someone who commits to such a religious belief.

That said, I agree with Pow that if the colonists are willing to be infected by the spores so they can receive the tranquil feelings and the perfect health, they should be free to do so.

However, the thing which complicates the situation is how both the colonist and the infected crewmen actually force the spores upon the crewmen. McCoy deliberately takes several plants to Sulu and his Away Team companion so that they'll be infected.

In a later scene, McCoy smiles happily and tells Kirk that he's beamed one hundred plants up to the ship. As a result, the crewmen becomes oblivious to their duty as Starfleet personnel, even blatantly refusing to obey orders as they line up outside the transporter room to abandon the ship.

So, if this compulsion to recruit new spore-carriers against their will is something the spores compel the humans to do, then the pros of being infected are completely outweighed by the cons. The plants don't simply bestow good health and inner peace — they brainwash the humans into helping the plants survive and spread! Shocked

In the final analysis, I think Kirk (and the Federation) are right to prevent people from being infected by these self-serving plants! The effect of the spores is more like what the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) did — rather than a devotion to a religion that promotes brotherly love.

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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:

Krel wrote:
Maybe Kirk liked antiques, and so used a vintage Samsonite suitcase, or a replica. Laughing Personally, I think the Samsonite looked better than those small silver cloth tubes they had in TNG.

I thought Kirk's black-and-brushed-chrome suitcase (it was actually an American Tourister piece) looked pretty modern, if not futuristic.

Yes it is an American Tourister suitcase. I know, because I have that suitcase (one of a set), which originally was my Dad's. But was I making a point, and didn't particularly care about the brand (I know, sloppy), plus Samsonite was easier and quicker to write than American Tourister. Laughing

David.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
So, if this compulsion to recruit new spore-carriers against their will is something the spores compel the humans to do, then the pros of being infected are completely outweighed by the cons. The plants don't simply bestow good health and inner peace — they brainwash the humans into helping the plants survive and spread! Shocked

In the final analysis, I think Kirk (and the Federation) are right to prevent people from being infected by these self-serving plants! The effect of the spores is more like what the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) did — rather than a devotion to a religion that promotes brotherly love.

Excellent points! BTW, there were no "Away Teams" in the original series. They had landing parties. "Away Team" sounds like high school football!
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Insects on Earth are absolutely essential for plant growth and crops.

If the Berthold radiation has killed all insects on Omicron Ceti III, how did their crops manage to survive and thrive?

Wouldn't insects also be crucial in spreading the feel-good plants on this episode, too?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
Excellent points! BTW, there were no "Away Teams" in the original series. They had landing parties. "Away Team" sounds like high school football!

Oops! Embarassed

Right. It's "Away Missions" and "Away Teams" on TNG, so I was a bit confused.

Thanks.


Pow wrote:
Insects on Earth are absolutely essential for plant growth and crops.

If the Berthold radiation has killed all insects on Omicron Ceti III, how did their crops manage to survive and thrive?

Wouldn't insects also be crucial in spreading the feel-good plants on this episode, too?

You're dead right, Mike! And it goes even further than that.

When I wrote that the Berthold rays had killed "the planet's insects", I knew I shouldn't have said that, because obviously insects wouldn't involved on a planet with radiation that kills life forms!

Like . . . duh! Rolling Eyes

Spock was examining the colony's garden, and he told Leila that there was no sign of insects. I wondered if he meant the insects native to Omicron Ceti III (since the landscape we see is rich with plant life), or perhaps insects brought from Earth, along with the seeds the colonist planted for their garden.

Either way, Spock's brief statement is tough to interpret, logically speaking. Confused

After all, the plant life on Omicron Ceti III is gorgeous! The trees, bushes, and grass make the place look absolutely Earth-like!

(Yes, I know . . . it IS Earth. And that's the problem, guys.)

Just how are we All Sci-Fi geniuses supposed to reconcile this beautiful landscape with the idea that it exists on a planet bathed in radiation which kills all insects and animals? Shocked

And THEN the story throws in a strange plant which thrives on Berthold radiation . . . but which needs to infect human hosts with it's spores to survive!

Holy crap! Where the hell did this plant come from? It can't have evolved on THIS planet, because no humans have ever lived here before! Shocked

And yet . . . Spock told Kirk that the plants thrive on Berthold rays and need human hosts — which it protects from the radiation while providing them with perfect health.

Good Lord, how are we supposed to make sense of this? The plot of this story has more holes than a Beverly Hills golf course! Rolling Eyes

As wonderful at this episode is, I have to say that it demonstrates the sad fact that writers for science fiction series like TOS rarely know their anal cavity from Carlsbad Caverns when it come to how to write true science fiction!
Shocked
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are points for this story and points against! Maybe the flora of Omicron Ceti Three didn't require insects in the same way that the earth does or the plants and vegetation were also stimulated by the Berthold rays as well, making insect life redundant to it's continued survival! The fact that people affected with the spores were committed to making more humans available to the plants is a bad point but the fact of ever lasting peace and contentment is a good thing which Kirk always seems to want to destroy in most of the Trek episodes! You have to drag, carry and struggle yourself out of the pit rather than wallow in it and be happy! This wouldn't be the first time he has annihilated a society of content humanoids (and it isn't) and nor would it be the last!
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnnybear wrote:
but the fact of ever lasting peace and contentment is a good thing which Kirk always seems to want to destroy in most of the Trek episodes!
JB

But the peace and contentment was a lie. The people were essentially drugged out of their gourd. When released from the plant's influence, the colonist realized this, and dealt with the situation.

That is the case in the other societies that Kirk dealt with. It was an artificial situation that Kirk freed from an artificially imposed behavior. Also, because in most cases, Kirk's ship was in danger, he could always plead self defense. Laughing

Now it would be interesting to know if any of the colonist chose to be reinfected and stay rather than face real life. There are always people who don't wish to deal with the struggles of life and seek an escape.

David.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

At the end of the episode, McCoy informs Kirk that the medical benefits of the plants' affects on both the crewmen and the colonists remained after they were cured of the plants' brainwashing. It's a lingering benefit of their experience! Very Happy

So, obviously the spores could be used as a treatment for numerous ailments, after which the negative affects could be removed — either with a serum which 23rd century science could develop . . . or with just a few slaps on the patient's face which would enrage him, causing violent anger, thus killing the spores!

What a great benefit to elderly patients like me! Very Happy

I could get an inject of those spores and be cured of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, the possibility of Alzheimer's (which killed my father), the possibility of COPD (which killed my mother), and the problem of erectile dysfunction — which afflicts men of my age!

This is, of course, in despite of the fact that I'm not in danger of that yet, as shown by the photo below of me taken less than two decades ago . . . which clearly shows I'm still a sexy stud muffin! Cool

Admittedly I might not look quiet this good today . . . Rolling Eyes



___________


However, obviously the medical science of the 23rd century could isolate the medically beneficial elements of the spores and reproduce them so that their patients could be treated — without the brainwashing effect the plants inflicted on it's victims. Sad

Gentlemen, a modern version of Star Trek wouldn't simply introduce profound concepts like this and then just move on to the next episode without making it one of the miraculous benefits of living in the 23rd century! Very Happy

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:55 am; edited 2 times in total
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
At the end of the episode, McCoy informs Kirk that the medical benefits of the plants' effects on both the crewmen and the colonists remained after they were cured of the plants' brainwashing. It's a lingering benefit of their experience! Very Happy

So, obviously the spores could be used as a treatment for numerous ailments, after which the negative effects could be removed — either with a serum that the 23rd century science could develop . . . or with just a few slaps on the patient's face which would enrage him, causing violent anger, thus killing the spores!

Judging by how Kirk got Spock to shake off the spores, it could be done with a few carefully chosen insults.

"Yo' momma is so ugly . . ."
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Doctor Scopens, I concur with your suggestion concerning the treatment of patients who need to have the brainwashing spores' removed.

Sir, might I suggest a few alternatives which might prove useful in specific situations. For example . . .

If the patient's mother is diseased, but the patient is married, the attending physician could say, "Sir, your wife's meatloaf tastes like the souls of the shoes worn by the cops in the St. Patrick's Day parade!"

If the patient is single, the doctor could say, "The girls you've been dating are all being chased by the county dog catcher!"

If the guy is gay and serving time on prison, the doctor could say, "Your fellow inmates have asked the Governor to give you a parole!" Sad

Those are just a few medical suggestions.

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